Permanent Scars
by Ichimaru-taicho
Summary: A Vietnam War fic. Ichigo and company are set in the Vietnam War, meaning AU, of course. May contain pairings, both yaoi and straight.
1. Welcome to Vietnam

This is an AU, and will be set in the time during and after the Vietnam war.

It is inspired by 'Scars of Saigon' by ninja hamster, and 'War paint' by Bill Goshen.

**Note:** I do not own Bleach or the Vietnam War. No disrespect intended for those who served in the war or their kin.

* * *

1967, 1500 local time, a half a mile from a US military outpost, Vietnam.

'_Whomp, whomp, whomp.'_

A green transport helicopter loaded with cargo and passengers was slowly headed toward its destination. Inside, sitting on crates as replacement seats, were 6 soldiers just out of boot camp. They were coming in as a replacement team for Company D, 62d Infantry (LRP), at an outpost near Bien Hoa.

"Ichigo."

Said man didn't move.

"ICHIGO! Get up, moron!"

Ichigo started awake from his momentary cat nap, only to see his seat mate Ishida in his face.

"What?" He grumbled.

"Get your stuff, we're close to our LZ."

After telling Ishida to move out of his face, Ichigo began to collect his belongings.

Ichigo, Ishida and the others had come out of boot camp together and knew each other quite well by now. Yusatora Chad, a large young man, sat next to Ishida. He and Ichigo had been friends long before boot camp ever came in to the picture. To Ichigo's right, sat a man called Grimmjow Jeagerjeaqes. He had blue hair and a short temper.

The other 2 were playing chess at the front of the copter.

Abarai Renji didn't normally play board games, but today he was bored out of his skull. His opponent was Shiro Kurosaki, Ichigo's twin brother. Shiro was more like Ichigo's ghost, with his pale skin and white hair.

Just as the helicopter was setting down, Shiro took Renji's king, leaving the man complaining that he had cheated. The dust was still settling down as the door opened, revealing a fairly tall man with blond hair. A boonie cap sat on his head, covering most of his face.

"Welcome to Vietnam," The man said. " I am your commander, Kisuke Urahara. First, I want you to tell me your name and specializations. Going down the row, starting with you." He pointed at Ichigo.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Marksman."

"Uryu Ishida, Marksman."

"Grimmjow Jaggerjack, Support Gunner."

"Chad Yusatora, Grenadier."

"Renji Abarai, Rifleman."

"Shiro Kurosaki, Rifleman."

"Okay, formalities out of the way, I'm gonna give you an important piece of information. We will not be using M-16's as they jam up on you in shitty situations. I'm not losing more men that way."

"You will be using M-14's and AK-47's, which I'm sure you've all learned about, so I won't go into specifics. So unless you show me a better replacement, these are what you're using." Urahara glanced at his watch.

"Okay boys, lights out. Get some sleep and report back to me at the helipad, 0800, fully equipped. Dismissed."

* * *

LZ: Landing Zone.

LRP(LRRP): Long Range Patrol. They work in 5-7 teams.

I made up the Company D, 62d Infantry (LRP), so don't sue me for whatever reasons.

Forgive me if I make a military operations mistake.


	2. Weapons and Ants

No disrespect is intended to those who served in the Vietnam war or their kin.

I don't own Bleach or the Vietnam War.

* * *

1967, 0700 local time, Lai Khe outpost, Vietnam.

After finishing breakfast, Ichigo and his team headed down to the armory to pick up their weapons. The armory was located a short distance from the mess hall, and had 'No Smoking' signs all around it.

Ichigo selected an AK-47, then began to dig around in the crates for ammo. Chad took a M-79 grenade launcher and a 12-gauge shotgun. Grimmjow picked a Thompson, as it used the same ammo as his pistol, meaning he'd only have to carry one type of ammo.

Shiro grabbed a M-60 GPMG as well as a M-1 carbine.

Renji chose the M-14, as it was a better melee weapon than the AK-47.

Having picked their weapons and ammo, they walked over to Urahara at the helipad.

Urahara wore the standard green uniform, the ever-present boonie cap, and a 12 gauge slung over his shoulder. He cleared his throat, and addressed the team.

"Today is your first patrol. Yesterday, division command confirmed a major trail that the VC have been using to route supplies back and forth. Our mission is to set up an ambush, give them something to worry about. Alright, lets load up men."

Ichigo sat on the side of the helicopter, his feet resting on the skids. He would be the first one out. It was nice up here, the air was cool, unlike the hot and humid jungle below.

Finally, the helicopter came down, landing in a small area, so that the team could hide faster.

Urahara tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, signaling that it was time to go. Ichigo jumped off, melting in to the greenery. The rest of the team followed him quickly, also melding in with the jungle. They waited a moment, then did a commo check.

"'K boys, lets move out." Urahara took the lead.

A short while later, they found the trail and began to lay claymores. That done, Ichigo melted back into the jungle and settled himself down comfortably, the team copying him.

The sun was almost gone, shadows beginning to cover the trail.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt like his body was on fire. He jumped up, stifling a scream and quickly began to strip off his clothes.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Ishida, the one closest to Ichigo, stage whispered.

"My body is on fire!" Ichigo whispered back, nearly out of his clothes. He discovered the source of the pain. For some reason or another, he had sat down on a nest of fire ants.

"What the. . . You retard, how did you manage to sit down on that!?" Ishida helped him knock them off, trying not to laugh at his friend's unfortunate predicament.

'_BOOM!'_

A claymore had been set off, indicating VC were nearby. It was silent for a moment, then all hell broke loose, bullets flying everywhere.

Ichigo, furious that he'd been interrupted in his private war with the ants, stood up in only his underwear, firing on full automatic.

The VC were slightly stunned by the nutcase shooting in only his underwear. It proved to be their undoing, as Ichigo mowed them down quickly.

Dead silence.

Grimmjow cautiously crawled out of his hiding spot, Shiro behind him.

"Well, that was an effective tactic." He said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Ichigo's face turned red.

Shiro spoke this time, "No, seriously, ya should try tha' again. Migh' save our asses."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Ichigo grabbed his uniform, dusted it off and began to pull it back on.

"Now, now children, stop fighting. Because of Ichigo's. . .tactic, this mission has been a success. Shall we proceed to the PZ?" Urahara's boonie cap hid most of his amusement, but it could still be seen.

* * *

PZ: Pick up Zone

VC: Viet Cong (Init obvious?)

Claymore: Anti-Personnel mine, set off by command or tripped.

The writing is a little choppy I think, but oh well. Please Review and tell me what you think. I can't improve my writing if you don't tell me.


	3. First Battle

No disrespect intended to those who served in Vietnam or their kin. If I did, I would surely be dead by now. I have a good friend who was a sniper over there. You really, really don't want to be on the receiveing end of his gun.

I don't own Bleach or Vietnam war.

**Note:** This chapter contains blood, guts, language and general war. Probably pushes the T rating a bit far.

* * *

1967, 1500, Lai Khe outpost, Vietnam.

Ichigo laid in his bunk bed, bored out his mind, waiting for the next warning order.

"Hey Ichigo!"

Ichigo looked up to see Ishida stepping through the door of their hootch. He was carrying a football.

"Wanna play football with us?" He asked.

"Never knew you'd actually play football with us mere mortals." Ichigo smirked, making fun of Ishida's sometimes snooty personality.

"Don't get used to it."

"Fine, I'll play." Ichigo jumped off his bunk.

"Okay, here's the teams. Ichigo, Chad, Grimmjow, Renji, Shiro, Urahara and myself will play this side." Ishida called. " Tessai, Jinta, Kon, Shunsui, Ikakku, Hisagi, and Komamura, will play the other side."

The called teams spread out on their sides, mentally preparing for a brute game.

Watching from the sidelines was a man with spiky black hair. He'd been in Vietnam since the beginning, and it was starting to show on his face, which was etched with lines from waiting for a VC to pop up and get him in the back. Currently he was reading a letter from his daughter, Yachiru. At his side was a man called Yumichika Ayasegawa, who was now brushing his hair, muttering something about it being difficult to be beautiful in Vietnam.

It was a scene of peace, right in the middle of war.

...

'_BOOM!' 'Popopopopopopop'_

Yumichika leaned over, blood pouring out of his chest.

"Oh shit! We're under attack!" Urahara yelled.

Everyone scattered, grabbing their weapons.

Kenpachi grabbed Yumichika and his grenade launcher. "Medic!" He yelled, then began to return fire. A small brown haired boy came rushing over with a medical bag.

Ichigo took cover and accessed the damage. All helicopters had been destroyed and the fuel supply was a raging fireball. VC were crawling over the walls and taking up positions.

Urahara yelled out orders, "Grimmjow, Chad, Renji, get two machine guns and set them up! Ichigo, Ishida, Shiro, cover them! The rest of you, return fire!"

He grabbed a radio, " Ukitake, this is Geta-boshi, we're under attack, requesting air support!"

A voice returned with, "That's a negative on air support. We're in our own attack."

"Dammit!" He swore.

Grimmjow and his mini team, meanwhile, grabbed the machine guns and opened up fire.

Shiro was in his own fight with a VC who had managed to sneak up on him. He bit the VC in the shoulder, causing the man to relinquish his grip. Shiro used the slack to throw the man to the ground and smash in his skull. He had no time to recover before being attacked by another VC.

Renji was nearly overtaken by a VC, but Ichigo shot the soldier before he managed to get anything damaged.

It had been nearly an hour and 15 minutes and the enemy wasn't being slowed down a bit. The base was nearly in danger of being completely overtaken.

"Ukitake, this is Geta-boshi, we need air support NOW!!" Urahara screamed into the radio.

"That's a roger on the air support, listen for the music, ETA 20 minutes."

The enemy was so close, everyone was now in hand-to-hand combat. The bodies were piling up one on top of the other.

In the distance, they all heard a sound, though nobody could identify it yet. It was Urahara who recognized it first. It was 'Ride of the Valkries'. Music from their saviors, the air support.

"Pop the flares boys! Show them where those bastards are!"

Flares lit up the night, revealing the enemy locations. The helicopters opened fire and drove the enemy back into the jungle.

It was evening, by the time the end of the battle came. Bodies lay all over the place, nearly unrecognizable. Blood painted the place a deep red.

Ichigo sat on the ground, staring off into the distance. The ground around him was covered in blood, bodies, bullet casings and empty ammo boxes.

Renji sat next to him, also staring into the distance.

Grimmjow pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered them around. The rest of the team took one, ignoring the fact that his hand was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

After finishing their cigarettes, they began to clean the place up. A bloody job that had everyone losing their lunches. They collected dog tags from those on their own side who had died.

After finishing that job, Ichigo took a long shower and hit the sack. He didn't sleep well that night and neither did anyone else.

* * *

Warning Order: Final approval for an upcoming mission.

ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival

By the way, LRP's are now know as. . .Rangers.

Eh, sorry for interupting such a peaceful scene. Kinda wish I had left it peaceful.


	4. Nightmares

No disrespect is intended to those who served in Vietnam or their kin.

I don't own Bleach or Vietnam.

Thanks to InLoveWithInsanity for the humourous PM lol.

Note: I am open to yaoi pairing's as well as straight. Just don't suggest Ichihime or I will explode and burn down the house. I would prefer yaoi of course, but I'm open for the moment.

* * *

1967, 0500, ???, ???.

Ichigo jerked awake. It was pitch black, and there was nobody on watch, he noticed. He or someone else had fallen asleep on watch, and he made note to berate whoever it had been. It was totally unacceptable to fall asleep, on watch, on patrol as the enemy could sneak up an kill them all.

He crawled over to Renji and shook him. The red head didn't respond. Ichigo reached up and touched Renji's face. . .

And pulled back with blood all over his hand. Ichigo fought back the urge to yell his surprise.

He pulled over to Shiro and touched his face as well. It was covered with blood.

Ichigo knew now, enemy sappers had come into camp and slit all their throats, and somehow he'd been missed.

"Ichigo." A body spoke to him. He pulled back, screaming, because dead bodies don't talk.

"ICHIGO!!" The body started to pull on his arm. He tried to run, only to find his legs wouldn't work.

"ICHIGO!! WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!"

This time Ichigo really did wake up, punching whoever was standing over him in the process.

"Jeez, moron! Didn't have to punch me!" Grimmjow picked himself off the floor, rubbing his jaw. "Next time I'll just leave you there."

"Say what?" Ichigo tried to sit up, only to find his legs had been entangled in his blanket, nearly tripping him.

"You were twisting in yer sleep, screaming and acting like you were dyin' or something."

"Yeah, you think yesterday helped any?" Ichigo glared at the blue haired man.

Grimmjow ignored him and stepped out into the darkness of early morning.

Ichigo flopped back down on his bunk, he still had another 45 minutes before he had to get up. He didn't want to go back to bed for fear the nightmare might come back, so he had to entertain himself for a bit.

What was Grimmjow doing up so early anyways? The man liked his sleep, and grabbed any chance he could to catnap, so him being up at 5:15 was an odd sight.

Figuring he wouldn't get answers just lying in bed thinking, Ichigo hauled his ass out of bed and went to find Grimmjow.

He found the man sitting on top of the armory, like a cat might. He climbed up the side of the building and sat next to him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep." The answer nearly knocked Ichigo off his perch.

"What!? The man who sleeps like he'll never sleep again couldn't sleep!?"

"Shhh, you want to get us in trouble for waking up the entire compound?"

"I would think of all people, you would be the last person to care. Just answer the question."

"Okay, I was just wondering, what are we doing here?"

Ichigo sat back for a moment. Yesterday must have shaken Grimmjow pretty badly.

"We're here to save the south from the north."

"Really? If we're really here for that, why can't we chase the enemy into Cambodia and the other places deemed 'Neutral'?

Ichigo rubbed his head. He hadn't counted on a philosophic conversation with the man. He'd expected something more along the lines of something that would get them both into trouble.

"Grimmjow. I don't know the specifics of 'Why?' but as long as I'm here, I gonna do my best."

He seemed happy enough with that answer, and didn't ask anymore questions. The sun was starting to come up now. Soon the whole place would be awake and active.

But for now, the two were content with staying on the armory roof.

* * *

Sappers: Men who would take people out in the middle of the night and generally cause havoc.

The US military was in fact, not allowed to chase the enemy into 'neutral' areas. The VC used this to their advantage, and often stockpiled stuff just out of reach.

Review, please?


	5. New Year

No disrespect is intended to those who served in Vietnam or their kin.

I don't own Bleach or Vietnam.

InLoveWithInsanity: Interesting idea. I'll consider it.

* * *

1967, 1530 local time, Lai Khe outpost, Vietnam.

Urahara busted down the door in his haste to get to the men inside, interrupting a game of poker.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR BOYS!!" He yelled, sending everybody into the corners in attempt to escape his exaggerated cheer. "Eh? What's your problem?"

"Aside from getting permanent ear damage from your shouting? Nothing." Ishida said, adjusting his glasses.

"Its not even midnight yet." Renji put in, crawling out of his corner.

Urahara shrugged. "Its midnight somewhere. I'm takin' you all out for dinner."

"Only your paying." Ichigo said with an ominous smirk.

"I am? Oi."

o.O.O.o

The sun beat down on a green army truck. Inside, Urahara was driving, Tessai riding next to him.

On the two benches in the back, sat Ichigo and team. They were protected from direct sun by the green cover, but it was still stuffy, even with the back open.

They soon arrived at Tessai's favorite restaurant and unloaded. Tessai headed over to a small building. The restaurant was a open air yet still inside sort of place.

Inside, was a girl with light brown hair put in two pigtails.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I have new dish today. Want to try?"

"What is it?" Tessai asked.

"Pickled rabbit sauteed in mushrooms, served on bean paste."

"I'll have one of those and the usual."

The rest of the boys ordered what ever sounded good and sat down at a table near the door. No sense in getting trapped by the VC if they were to attack, right?

"How in the hell is that even edible?" Grimmjow stared at the pickled rabbit.

"Its prolly poisoned." Shiro snickered.

"I'll give $25 dollars to anyone who actually eats that. But you have to swallow it." Renji offered. Ichigo spoke up, "I'll eat it, but show me the money first." Renji pulled out a 20 and a 5, placing it on the table in front of him.

Ichigo picked up a piece and chomped down on it, everyone staring at him.

...

"What's it taste like?" Renji asked.

"Mmm, beef."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really?"

"YES! Really!"

Everyone jumped back from him, as if he'd turned into an alien by eating something. Ichigo smugly collected his prize money.

As they prepared to leave, the were aproached by a group of vietnam boys in their single digits.

"Play with us?" The apparent leader asked, flipping a football up and down.

Ichigo hesitated. Young boys often worked with the VC, but these seemed harmless.

"Okay, we'll play."

* * *

Fluffy, ain't it? Decided to take a break from making things explode. Wasn't sure what to make the recipe, but I needed a nasty one. I've noticed that I'm in the habit of making Urahara say 'boys' all the time lol.

I am freezing my ass up here. Its a total high of 10 degrees here.-_-' And I managed to fall on the ice in the same 24 hours, jeez.


	6. Saigon

No disrespect is intended to those who served in Vietnam or their kin.

I don't own Bleach or Vietnam.

* * *

1968, 1100 local time, Lai Khe outpost, Vietnam

_'pipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipip'_

Urahara made his way through the pounding rain to the dull green building that housed his team. He stepped inside and slammed the door behind him, once again interrupting a game.

"Hey! Can't you ever walk through the door like a normal person?" Grimmjow turned over on his bunk, annoyed that his cat nap had been interrupted.

Ishida straightened the chessboard, which had been thrown off kilter by Urahara slamming the door. "Is it really necessary to slam the door?" He asked, also straightning his glasses.

Ichigo just settled for glaring at the green capped man who was dripping water on a previously dry floor. Not that he cared about the floor in particular, however, he did like the few dry moments he had in a very humid, hot, country.

"Gentlemen, we're being sent to Saigon." Urahara stated curtly. "You will meet me at 1300, fully packed. Understood?"

The whole team stared at him, then responded with a loud, "Yes, Sir!". Urahara stepped out the door, this time shutting the door a little quieter. The team quickly set about gathering their gear.

* * *

1968, 1300 local time, Lai Khe, Vietnam.

"Okay, we'll be stopping at the city called My Long for tonight, then we'll continue to Saigon." Urahara directed. "Okay, load up!"

Ichigo took his position up at the door, and settled in for the long ride. Behind him, Ishida and Renji were arguing about some little thing Renji seemed to have forgotten. Another pointless argument the two had gotten into. Chad and Grimmjow sat together, seemingly each contemplating the worlds greatest mysteries.

"Hey King."

Ichigo jumped. He hadn't heard his brother come up behind him. "What? And don't call me that."

"Don' go an' get yourself kilt now, King."

"Yeah sure, I'm just gonna go walk right in the middle of a field and wait for some VC to blow my head off. Mhmm." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"I'm just sayin'. Don' go gettin your panties in a twist."

This time Ichigo just flat out ignored him. He instead decided to take a nap.

They were about 50 miles away from My Long, when the situation suddenly turned dark.

'Pwhooosh!'

Ichigo whipped his head up, looking around for the source of the sound.

"RPG!" He yelled, ducking.

The helicopter swung a hard right dodging the oncoming RPG. Chad took up position at the door, firing his grenade launcher. Another RPG flew up at them. The copter tipped over clear onto it side for a moment, dodged it, then settled back over into its normal position.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!!"

Ichigo screamed as he pitched toward the ground. He had been thrown from the copter when it had done the little side maneuver it seemed.

Shiro stared in horror as Ichigo flew farther away. He leaped forward, intending to at least attempt to save him, but was pulled to a stop as Urahara grabbed his arm. "Are you stupid!?" Urahara yelled, "You do that, and we'll have two of you dead!" Shiro pulled back, watching as Ichigo vanished into the trees.

o.O.O.o

'Thwap, thunk, thud, WHAM'

Ichigo twisted through the trees, branches ripping his uniform and cutting him. He hit the ground with a hard thud, cracking his head hard against the ground. "Uggh."

* * *

RPG - Rocket Propelled Grenade

My attempt at creating a cliffie. Probably failed though. The action should start up in the next chapter or so. Reveiw?


	7. Urahara's battle

No disrespect intended to those who served in Vietnam or their kin.

I don't own Bleach or Vietnam. (Haven't you figured that out yet?)

* * *

1968, ????, ???, ???, ???

'_BOOM!' 'Popopopopopopop'_

_"Oh shit! We're under attack!"_

_"Medic!"_

_"That's a negative on air support. We're in our own attack."_

Ichigo sat up straight, holding back a shriek of pain as he did so. That fall hadn't killed him, but it had damn well came close to doing so. His nightmare of the previous battle had woken him up well after dark, as the jungle around him was nearly pitch black. A cursory examination of his body told him he hadn't broken any bones, but had sustained several deep cuts as well as various small cuts and bruises. He had also lost his gun in the process of falling through the trees.

Groaning, he stood up and took off in the direction he had been flying into, knowing he needed to get out of there before VC found him.

* * *

1968, 2200 local time, My Long, Vietnam.

Shiro stood up. He had been waiting for news of Ichigo, but after waiting for three hours, he'd had enough of waiting. He headed for the door, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going, boy?"

"Where do ya think I'm goin'? To go ge' the King."

"No you're not." Urahara pulled his pistol out and pointed it at Shiro. "You and I both know Ichigo isn't alive. Even if he survived the fall, the VC would have got him. You just hope they didn't."

"Yeah? Better'n jus' waitin' for news that will never come." Shiro headed for the door again.

"Chad, Grimmjow, hold him down."

Shiro almost made it to the door before feeling two strong arms pulling him back and pinning him to the floor.

"Dammit! Lemme go!"

"Settle down, brat." Grimmjow planted an arm on the back of Shiro's neck for good measure.

"Alright, here's the deal, you stay here, and I'll tell you about the time before you guys were here. The search team should be back by then." Urahara placed the pistol back in its holster.

"And if I don' stay?"

"Well, I'll just have to arrest you for going AWOL with government equipment."

The albino finally stopped struggling.

"Good. Now get up here and I'll start." Urahara leaned back into his chair, tipping it up on two legs, and began, " I was the leader of the team that you replaced. A couple months before you came, my team was sent out to verify a major VC trail...

_'Kaboom' A grenade exploded, sending the GI's scrambling for cover. The team leader, a familiar boonie cap on his blond head, felt sick. He'd led his team...no, his BROTHERS, straight into an ambush. He yelled for the radio man to come over, his voice barely making it over the sound of gunfire._

_A boy with reddish hair came running, the radio in hand._

_'Whooom!' Another grenade hit, and for a moment Urahara could see nothing. When the dust cleared, the boy was gone, along with the radio. "Jinta!" Urahara crawled over to where the boy had been. All that was left was a few charred limbs. Apparently, the grenade had hit him directly. It had also destroyed the radio beyond saving. Unfortunately, that had been their only radio._

_Urahara found the nearly obliberated dog tags and tucked them into his pocket. __'WHOOMPH!' A mine went off close by, killing the team's point leader and best sniper, Shinji Hirako and Kensei Muguruma. Urahara seized his gun and let loose, barely even aiming._

_A bush next to him moved. He whipped around, preparing to shoot the bush and what ever was in it to none existance. A hand reached out and threw the barrel up, then managed to westle the gun out of his grip. 'No matter!' He thought, pulling a knife out of his boot. He'd just shove this nice little toy up the VC's neck._

_"Hey! It's me, Aizen! Calm down!" Said man pulled himself out of the bush, revealing his face. "Everyone's dead! We need to get out of here now!"_

_Aizen grabbed Urahara by the arm and began to haul him through the thick brush. The river was only a couple miles away, they could find a boat and ride back to base. They just had to make it before the VC figured out that there were missing members._

"...and as you can see, I'm still alive. Aizen and I were the only survivors of that attack. We were sent home for a while,and he introduced me to his...boyfriend, Ichimaru Gin. Nice guy, actually. But we couldn't stay in the civilian world. No, they spit on us and called us 'baby-killers'. We, who were trying to save another country, were insulted and beat for it." Silence filled the room.

...

_'Wham'_ The door slammed open, disturbing the silence. An officer came through it, and stood in front of Urahara.

"Sir, I am sorry to tell you this, but we cannot find any trace of Cpl. Ichigo Kurosaki -"

"WHAT!? Then search harder!" Shiro leapt forward, throwing the poor man to the floor.

'Well, that went well' Urahara thought.

"Shiro!" That is enough!" Ishida yelled. "You can get your ass fried for that!"

Chad place a large hand on the albino's shoulder, along with a warning squeeze. The officer immediately took his chance and ran for the door.

As soon as he was gone, Shiro threw Chad's arm off, then sat down. He had a choice here, he could either go out and get himself killed looking for a dead man, or, he could stay put and not know whether Ichigo was dead or alive. He decided to stay put, Ichigo would kill him if he went and got himself kilt. 'Of course, thats if he's alive.' Shiro thought bitterly.

* * *

1968, 0100 local time, ???, Vietnam.

Ichigo had been walking a couple hours now, and it was starting to take its toll on him. _'There should have been a building around here_!' He thought. He nearly fell as a clearing suddenly opened in front of him. There, illuminated with the moonlight, was a house in the corner of the clearing. He ran toward it.

Ichigo crashed though the nearest door he could find, sending himself sprawling out on the floor. He laid there for a moment before a thud in the other room convinced him to at least stand up again and pretend he was armed.

A light made its way through what was apparently a hall. It was a man holding a candle. The man stopped short, realizing just what had invaded his house. His eyes widened in shock.

Ichigo quickly sorted through his limited Vietnamese, and asked the man if he had some bandages or a substitute. The man nodded and went to a back room for a moment, then came back. He handed Ichigo some slightly dirty pieces of what looked like a former sheet torn to short pieces. Ichigo sat down and began to wrap his deeper cuts.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man pull a gun.

'Bam!'

It missed. Ichigo had ducked to the side just in time. He pulled a knife and jumped at the man, stabbing deep. Blood washed over his hands, thick and warm. His attacker let out one last sigh as his life's blood drained away.

Ichigo finished wrapping his wounds, then quickly verified the fact that nobody else was in the house or close by. He would stay here for the night, then head back later. For now he just needed some sweet, sweet sleep...

* * *

**Authors Note:**

AWOL: Absence WithOut Leave. I don't really know what the did if you ran off with government equipment, but I assume they would have court marshialed you or something. But mostly, Urahara is just trying to make Shiro stay. (If you hadn't noticed lol)

And yes, I'm working to make my chapters longer! Don't attack me!

Also, I just wanted to make a comment here. The other day, I was reading about the 4 yr old kid who shot his baby sitter because he didn't want to do something. Before that was the 8 yr old kid who managed to shoot himself in the head with an Uzi (On a gun range). Today it was the 6 yr old kid who _accidently_ shot his mom.

Now for the point, how does the 4 yr old and the 6 yr old, get a loaded gun? Was it just sitting on the coffee table, fully loaded, safety off? Or who the hell gives a KID an Uzi!? Okay, rant over. Go do your stuff and have a nice day.*Waves*


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